Pachinko spoilers follow.
Pachinko star Minha Kim has opened up about episode 6's intense birth scene.
She portrays teenage Sunja in the South Korean Apple TV+ drama, and during her exclusive chat with Digital Spy recently, the particular moment in this week's (April 15) episode was discussed.
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"Preparing for that scene, I had to watch a lot of documentaries and a lot of videos on YouTube," she told us. "I wanted to see a lot of 'live' moments of women in labour. And then I asked a lot of things to my grandmother.
Related: Pachinko's Soo Hugh and Lee Min-ho explain the joy behind that opening credits sequence
"But as soon as I was on the set – I don't know why, but I actually felt like I was pregnant, and I was giving the first AD a baby," laughed Kim, before revealing how the sequence took two days to complete.
"It was kind of tough. But also, it was my first experience and I really wanted it to be live, and not pretending. It was also very challenging for me. But also a whole new experience."
Further along, the 26-year-old also addressed Pachinko's quieter sensibilities, with an apparent fondness for the boarding house material.
"There is a scene where we first enter the boarding house, and we all leave with Dokhee and Bokhee and Yangjin. We all chat, and it shows our daily life.
Related: Pachinko boss Soo Hugh explains how Lee Min-ho won the role of Hansu
"That is a scene which is not that intense, but it's just normal life. It just shows their normal life, and how women at that time just do their chores, and how they do their work, and those kind of things.
"So I think it's a very meaningful thing, to show our culture, and a whole sense of that era," she continued.
Pachinko arrives at a time where South Korean stories have become increasingly visible globally, with Netflix's Squid Game, Kingdom and Hellbound leading the way in terms of international popularity.
Pachinko streams new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
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Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
